Friday, 26 November 2010
Third Force can stop Pakatan from winning big, says Syed Husin
Syed Husin warned of the risk from the Third Force. — Picture by Jack Ooi
PETALING JAYA, Nov 26 — Senator Dr Syed Husin Ali warned PKR today not to dismiss a group of independents dubbed the “Third Force” as they could prevent Pakatan Rakyat (PR) from achieving a huge victory in the next general election.
“If it (the Third Force) is formed, this group will breathe life to Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN),” said Syed Husin in his opening speech at the seventh PKR Wanita and Youth congress today.
“It will complicate Pakatan’s efforts in achieving a huge victory,” he added.
PKR officials have come out strong against the Third Force as it can split the vote in multi-cornered fights that will benefit the ruling BN federal government.
Straight fights between BN and PR in Election 2008 helped the opposition pact to an unprecedented 82 federal seats and four states then.
The Third Force’s initiative could result in multi-cornered fights in up to 30 of the 222 parliamentary seats that are being held or will be contested by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s PKR.
In Election 2008, more than 90 per cent of the federal seats saw a straight fight between PR parties and BN.
Today, Syed Husin said the Third Force needed to be handled with care.
“This matter (the Third Force) must be handled wisely,” said the PKR deputy president.
Recently, Third Force co-ordinator Haris Ibrahim said his objective was to offer strong candidates to PR who would not switch allegiance in case PR forms the next federal government.
Haris had said that his group aimed to prevent a repeat of the Perak constitutional crisis last year that saw the fall of the PR state government after three of its assemblymen became BN-friendly lawmakers.
PR has also lost five MPs since March 2008. Four of them — Datuk Seri Zahrain Hashim (Bayan Baru), Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal), Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai) and Wee Choo Keong (Wangsa Maju) — quit, citing a loss of confidence in Anwar’s leadership. Zulkifli Noordin (Kulim-Bandar Baru) was sacked following disagreement with the PRK leadership over the “Allah” row.
At a press conference later, however, Syed Husin said the Third Force did not pose a threat to PR currently.
“As of now, no,” he told reporters.
“It’s neither a ‘third’ nor a ‘force’. They use it to get people who are dissatisfied with the (PR) parties,” he added.
Haris, who has been working with civil society groups for the initiative, had stressed that the pool of candidates would first be offered to the federal opposition.
The lawyer and active blogger said the candidates would only contest as independents if PR parties could not offer better candidates.
His group of activists and bloggers has been campaigning against BN since before Election 2008 that saw the ruling coalition losing its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time and losing control of four states.
They were also behind a manifesto called the People’s Declaration that was endorsed by all PR parties ahead of the 12th general election.
The group was also influential in mobilising urban voters to back PR candidates in 2008.
Haris said negotiations with “non-BN parties” would start in January.
Speculation is rife that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will call for a general election as early as the first quarter of next year.
However, the current government’s mandate only expires in May 2013.
Letter sacking Jenapala: Ex-PKR sec-gen cries 'fraud'
By FMT Staff KUALA LUMPUR: Former PKR secretary-general Salehuddin Hashim never issued a letter sacking the party's former deputy secretary-general P Jenapala, as claimed by the party lawyers at the High Court yesterday.
In an affidavit dated Nov 23, the former PKR leader, who served as PKR secretary-general from April 2008 to January 2010, said he had no knowledge of a letter, dated Feb 2, 2009 allegedly signed by him, sacking Jenapala from the party.
This letter of dismissal was tendered as an exhibit in the court yesterday by the party lawyers. The High Court decided that it had no jurisdiction to hear Jenapala's suit against three PKR office-bearers in relation to the party's deputy presidential election.
Jenapala wanted the court to issue a declaration that he was entitled to contest the position of deputy president in the just-concluded PKR polls. He also wanted a declaration that his disqualification as a candidate for the post of PKR deputy president was unlawful and contrary to his rights as a party member.
In the suit, he named PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, her deputy Dr Syed Husin Ali and secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail as defendants in their capacity as office-bearers of the party.
Judge Datuk Aziah Ali, in dismissing Jenapala's application, said the decision of a political party could not be challenged in court in accordance with Section 18(C) of the Societies Act 1966 (revised 1987).
The judge also said Jenapala's application did not have merits for the suit because he was already sacked from the party. This was based on the letter of dismissal, purportedly signed by Salehuddin, on Feb 2, 2009.
"The said letter was never drafted or approved by me. The said letter was never issued by me or authorised to be issued by me. In fact, I have never seen the letter until now,” said Salehuddin, in his five-paged affidavit, which was mailed to FMT by a reader who wished to remain anonymous.
"During my tenure as the secretary-general of PKR, my electronic signature is kept by the deputy secretary in charge of disciplinary matters Johnson Chong, special officer to me Faizedah Azni and the (PKR) organising secretary Raden Shamsulkamar.
"They are authorised to issue my letters only after I have approved the contents of the same," said Salehuddin.
'Letter not authentic'
He said the letter sacking (Jenapala) tendered in court yesterday was "not authentic" as "the language, format and style of the letter is not mine".
He also said that the party secretary-general did not have the power under its constitution to sack a member and that such power is exclusively vested with the party's supreme council.
“
I am also certain as the language, format and style of the said letter is not mine - Salehuddin in his affidavit
However, he said for the purposes of expediency there were occasions where the supreme council delegated its powers to the party's political bureau to deal with any disciplinary problems of members.I am also certain as the language, format and style of the said letter is not mine - Salehuddin in his affidavit
"Any decision of the political bureau will be minuted, acted upon and then submitted as an agenda to the supreme council for its ratification or approval at its next meeting. The ratification or approval will then be recorded in the minutes of that meeting by the supreme council.
"In so far as the purported sacking of the plaintiff (Jenapala) as a member of PKR (is concerned), I verily state that to my
knowledge, there were no minutes of the political bureau or the supreme council recording such action taken against the plaintiff. I could not have sent the said letter," said Salehuddin.
He reiterated that Jenapala was never sacked as PKR member during his tenure as secretary-general, firstly because there was no party supreme council decision to sack him and the secretary- general cannot make a decision to sack a member on his own or on the orders of anyone in the party without the supreme council's decision.
"Secondly, it is certainly not for any secretary-general to make a decision by way of a media statement to sack a member of PKR without the supreme council's decision," he said.
Political bureau only decided on suspension
Salehuddin said the fact remained that as at Aug 30, 2009, the minutes of the political bureau meeting clearly showed that the party was still deciding on whether to suspend Jenapala as a member and to refer the matter to the disciplinary committee.
"Further, throughout the period from, inter alia, February 2009 until the issuance of the media statement, the plaintiff participated in PKR by-elections and functions as a member and (PKR de-facto leader) Anwar Ibrahim duly gave cognisance to the plaintiff's presence.
"I verily state that in the event the said letter was indeed issued in February, 2009 and copied to the president and the deputy president (as purported in the said letter itself), it is pertinent to note that the president and deputy president were present during the political bureau meeting on Aug 30, 2009 at the time of the discussion of the proposed disciplinary action against the plaintiff and therefore, ought to have known about the purported expulsion in February, 2009," said Salehuddin's affidavit.
FMT also received the attendance list of the said political bureau meeting which showed the attendence of not only Anwar, but also of Wan Azizah and Syed Husin.
Also attached was the Aug, 30, 2009 political bureau meeting minutes which noted that the bureau had agreed to the suspension of Jenapala's party membership if it was found that he had attempted to start a new party.
Salehuddin is also expected to lodge a police report over this “false letter” (below) today.
PKR's national congress started today and will end on Sunday with the naming of the new batch of leaders, including Azmin Ali as the deputy president.
Poison-pen letter: Who did it?
By Teoh El SenPETALING JAYA: A DAP leader aligned to the Justice Reform Group (JRG) believes the other camp, the Unity Team, was behind the poison-pen letters bad-mouthing JRG leader Teng Chang Khim in the run-up to the Selangor party polls on Sunday.
He dismissed suggestions that the smear campaign was the work of a third party.
"It is impossible for someone to get the addresses of all branches in the state without inside help from the state DAP headquarters," claimed the leader, who declined to be named.
He alleged that other than the staff in the headquarter and state secretary, no one else would have complete information of the state DAP branches.
An English language newspaper yesterday reported that poison-pen letters or brochures lambasting Teng were sent to some 30 branches, including coastal branches between Kapar and Sabak Bernam.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng was quoted as saying the brochures must be the work of a third party seeking to create chaos as he was confident that members would not resort to character assassination.
"We ourselves do not know the total number of branches in the state, so how could a third party find out? For Lim to suggest that means that we have a traitor in our midst," the leader said.
The JRG and Unity Team are headed for a showdown as they vie for control of all the 15 posts in the state committee currently headed by Ean Yong Hian Wah.
'A low blow'
The Unity Team is said to be helmed by DAP veteran and state executive councillor Teresa Kok while JRG is led by Teng, who is described as a “grassroots rebel”.
Kok, who is Kinrara state assemblywoman and Seputeh MP, is considered an establishment figure while Teng, the State Legislative Assemblyman speaker, is seen as a “rogue” among the party's top leaders.
Sources in the Teng faction claimed that the poison-pen letter was a "low blow" designed to woo fence-sitting members to Kok's camp.
"They (Kok's faction) took a Chinese paper clipping on what Teng said about the party to make it look as if he is not loyal to the party. But what he was trying to say is that members should not blindly follow the leaders,” said a source from the Teng faction.
"Our principle is to fight for Malaysia... not just for DAP," he said.
It was also reported that Teng's faction was alleged to be paying delegates RM200 to vote for its contestants. But a strong Teng supporter, Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim, has dismissed the claim.
Dinner rivals
The Teng faction is also boosted by Tee Boon Hock, the former state organising secretary and councillor who was sacked for allegedly issuing support letters to his family members and friends to obtain contracts.
Tee, though no longer a DAP member, still has considerable influence in Selangor.
In an immediate rebuttal, a source close to the Unity Camp said that the JRG's contention that no party members knew about the addresses of the branches did not hold water.
"Besides the headquarters which has the addresses of all the branches, the DAP state organising secretary (currently Teo Nie Ching) would also have them. The former organising secretary was Tee, who is sure to have a copy," he said, adding that another member who would have the full list of the addresses is Kok.
Tomorrow, the two rivals will bedinners at Jaya 33 in Petaling Jaya and Fong Cher Yuan Restaurant in Klang respectively.
Party insiders said the simultaneous dinners could well be a barometer of sorts to gauge the level of support both camps wielded.
Mahathir’s take on Anwar flawed, self-serving
COMMENT Now pushing 90, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues to live in a make-believe world, oblivious to the contempt that many Malaysians have for him. This is especially true whenever he has something to say about Anwar Ibrahim, his former deputy.
This week, Mahathir has outdone even himself. He told the media in Kemaman on Tuesday that the federal government should not prevent Anwar from going abroad. Mahathir thinks – or so he says – that no one will now believe Anwar even if he continues to badmouth the country abroad. Besides, he added, the people will get angry if Anwar is prevented from going abroad.
Left unsaid is the truth that the federal government in the post-Mahathir era has never prevented Anwar from going abroad. This must make us all wonder whether Mahathir is for real.
It seems that Mahathir is suggesting to the federal government, in reverse fashion, that it should prevent Anwar from going abroad. So when it does happen, which is unlikely, he can turn around and say that he did advise the federal government against it.
It is not true to say that Anwar has been badmouthing the country. Mahathir deliberately makes no distinction between the country and the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
As the opposition leader, Anwar is duty-bound to give the international community the true picture of the ruling Malay elite and Umno. Investors should not turn up in Malaysia and find that the situation is not as ideal as made out by the BN’s propaganda mills.
Some pressure from the international community can help take Malaysia onto the right path of respecting human rights, the rule of law, ensuring public accountability and transparency and respecting the judiciary and law enforcement agencies.
In return, the international community counts on Muslim leaders like Anwar to help foster a dialogue between the West and Islam. This is a key plank in the long-running war against global terrorism.
Social contract
The international community would also want to know what the social contracts, both written and unwritten, and Article 153 of the Federal Constitution are all about. Then, there’s that bizarre notion of ketuanan Melayu (Malay political dominance and supremacy).
It was Mahathir who dismantled Tunku Abdul Rahman’s unwritten social contract – that the Malays stick to politics and the Chinese to the economy – when he unilaterally extended Article 153 to every facet of life in Malaysia, claiming in the process that the Malays had special privileges.
Article 153 of the Federal Constitution (the written social contract) provides a special position for Malays and natives by reserving for them a reasonable proportion in four specific areas: intake into the civil service, intake into institutions of higher learning owned by the government, government scholarships and training privileges, and opportunities from the government to do business.
Mahathir put the terms “special position” and “training privileges” together and came up with the idea that the Malays had “special privileges” and hence could ride roughshod over everyone else.
Such a line only served a handful of people, that is, those who, like him, belong to the ruling elite. To ensure such abuse of power, as well as the exercise of absolute power, he needed to make sure that there were no Malay-led political parties in the opposition. This effectively held the Malays to ransom; they are forced to subscribe only to Umno.
Ever since, Umno has been twisting and turning every issue in Malaysia into a racial issue. The idea is to camouflage the fact that while the people are drawn into the rhetoric, polemics and public debates on “racial” issues generated by Umno, the ruling elite can continue to plunder the public treasury at will under the guise of development and the Bumiputera economy.
Not surprisingly, Mahathir has trotted out the usual tribal arguments against Anwar, that is, he is a traitor for setting up a party and dividing the Malays further. He wants PKR to disappear and all Malays united under Umno. This is a self-serving argument which can only benefit a tiny minority like him at the expense of the people and the Federal Constitution.
It was Mahathir himself who pushed Anwar into the situation that both men find themselves in today. Had he paused to reflect, he could have just reshuffled the Federal Cabinet in 1998 and left Anwar out. Instead, he not only took the extreme step of sacking him but also removing him from Umno. Anwar could have just been suspended from Umno pending the resolution of the corruption and sodomy charges against him. The rest is history.
Breath of fresh air
Between Anwar and Mahathir, the former is like a breath of fresh air although he has his skeletons in the cupboard too. The people would rather believe Anwar than Mahathir. The latter, everyone knows, is loaded and can continue to create trouble in the politics of the country.
So far, Anwar has held his peace. If the de facto PKR chief ever decides to go after Mahathir, he can easily make mincemeat of him. Mahathir is perhaps more than a little depressed by the fact that Anwar continues to ignore him, considering him an anachronism and irrelevant in the emerging politics of Malaysia.
Anwar’s setback in the country’s politics is that he has been unable to woo and rally the people of Sabah and Sarawak to his agenda for change and reform. Malaysians on the other side of the South China Sea see nothing for themselves in Anwar’s crusade.
Even in Peninsular Malaysia, Anwar has a fair share of detractors who, like many Sabahans and Sarawakians, see PKR as just another form of Umno but with non-Malays as members. This is something that Umno could easily do as well if it can ditch its racist mindset, which has since been sub-contracted to Perkasa, an extreme right-wing Malay NGO.
Ex-airman seeks habeas corpus writ
By Teoh El Sen - Free Malaysia TodayPETALING JAYA: The lawyer representing former air force sergeant N Tharmendran, who was dramatically re-arrested yesterday by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) on grounds of absence from duty, will file a habeas corpus application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon.
N Surendran told FMT this morning that he was on his way to the Batu Kentonmen army camp at Jalan Ipoh, where his client is detained, to get his affirmation for the affidavit to support the application.
"If all goes well, and I am allowed in, we will be filing the habeas corpus application by 3.45pm,” said Surendran.
On Jan 6, Tharmendran, 42, pleaded not guilty to a charge of abetting senior airman Mohamad Shukri Mohamad Yusop in the theft of two F5 jet engines at the RMAF base in Sungai Besi on April 30, 2008. If convicted, he can be for up to 10 years.
Former company director K Rajandran Prasad, 38, was charged with intentionally disposing of the two engines.
On Aug 19, Tharmendran and Prasad were slapped with additional charges of money laundering – Tharmendran with three counts involving RM62,000 and Prasad with five counts involving RM437,319.50. Both claimed trial.
Surendran said Tharmendran's arrest and detention were unlawful because he was a civilian and therefore no longer subject to military authority.
"They claim that he is still a serviceman, and that he hasn't reported for duty and is now a deserter,” he said. “But we all the evidence to prove otherwise. We have the order from 2007 that extends his service only until May 28. Furthermore, he has not got his salary since June."
Surendran accused the RMAF of acting in bad faith.
"We are afraid for his safety because he was tortured by the army before,” he said. “We are also afraid that pressure will be asserted on him because he is going to testify against the air force.”
Tharmendran has claimed that RMAF intelligence physically tortured him to extract a guilty plea.
Camp officials have been informed of Surendran’s planned visit, but the lawyer said there was a possibility that he would be denied a meeting with his client.
Five RMAF provost marshalls arrested Tharmendran at the car park outside the Shah Alam High Court yesterday after he had attended the hearing of an application to have the charges against him dropped. The judge said he would give his decision on Dec 17.
The Defence Ministry has said in an official statement that Tharmendran's failure to report for work after posting bail on Sept 6 was an offence under the Armed Forces Act 1972. It said Tharmendran was still in service.
The missing F5E jet engines were allegedly smuggled to Uruguay.
Gloves off in Selangor DAP
By V. Shankar Ganesh, New Straits Times
KLANG: A faction in Selangor DAP, which lacks all the big names paraded by its rival and is led by a critic of party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and adviser Lim Kit Siang, may cause an upset in Sunday's state party polls.
This is the Justice Reform team, reportedly led by state Speaker and Sungai Pinang assemblyman Teng Chang Khim, who has denied its existence.
Teng and his team have, however, been actively campaigning on the need for reforms and change in leadership and Teng is also seen as someone who dares challenge the Guan Eng-Kit Siang leadership.
The team has, in any case, swept all the posts in Klang, Petaling Jaya Utara, Kuala Langat and Puchong division elections recently.
Come Sunday, delegates will vote in what will be the biggest and most intense battle in the Selangor DAP elections ever. An unprecedented number of delegates -- 1,008 -- will vote in 15 candidates from a pool of about 50 candidates.
The 15 successful ones will then vote among themselves on who will be the chairman, deputy chairman, vice-chairman and various other positions.
Justice Reform is up against the Unity team led by Seputeh member of parliament and Kinrara assemblywoman Teresa Kok, and it boasts of many party heavyweights in its lineup.
They include current state chairman and Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah; his deputy and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua; vice-chairman and Klang MP Charles Santiago; state secretary and Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San; publicity chief Tiew Way Keng, assistant organising secretary and Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching; political education bureau chief Lee Kee Hiong; Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo; Kajang municipal councillor S.T. Chandra Mohan; and Shah Alam city councillor V. Ganabatirau.
Others include treasurer and Subang Jaya assemblywoman Hannah Yeoh and assistant publicity secretary and Teratai assemblywoman Janice Lee.
Those being mentioned as Teng's allies are veterans like James Ooi, state vice-chairman T. Kannan, senator S. Ramakrishnan, state assistant treasurer M. Batumalai, Lee Ah Seng, Lee Fu Haw, Lim Soon Kang, Ivan Ho, Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim and Michael Soon Kwai Choy.
Santiago and Yeoh are seen as being neutral and they are also said to be on the list of the Justice Reform Team. The Unity team seems to have the upper hand in this contest as it is also perceived to have the backing of the party leadership.
But Teng draws sympathy from the grassroots because he is seen to be consistently sidelined by the party leadership due to his dissenting views. This was evident when Teng was not made an executive councilor in Selangor despite his seniority and instead made the speaker.
The Justice Reform team consists of many disgruntled party veterans, some of whom were bypassed after the success of the 2008 election. Unhappy that young and new members are being given more importance, many of the veterans have rallied behind Teng.
Teng also has the backing of former state organising secretary Tee Boon Hock, who was sacked following the support letter controversy.
KLANG: A faction in Selangor DAP, which lacks all the big names paraded by its rival and is led by a critic of party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and adviser Lim Kit Siang, may cause an upset in Sunday's state party polls.
This is the Justice Reform team, reportedly led by state Speaker and Sungai Pinang assemblyman Teng Chang Khim, who has denied its existence.
Teng and his team have, however, been actively campaigning on the need for reforms and change in leadership and Teng is also seen as someone who dares challenge the Guan Eng-Kit Siang leadership.
The team has, in any case, swept all the posts in Klang, Petaling Jaya Utara, Kuala Langat and Puchong division elections recently.
Come Sunday, delegates will vote in what will be the biggest and most intense battle in the Selangor DAP elections ever. An unprecedented number of delegates -- 1,008 -- will vote in 15 candidates from a pool of about 50 candidates.
The 15 successful ones will then vote among themselves on who will be the chairman, deputy chairman, vice-chairman and various other positions.
Justice Reform is up against the Unity team led by Seputeh member of parliament and Kinrara assemblywoman Teresa Kok, and it boasts of many party heavyweights in its lineup.
They include current state chairman and Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah; his deputy and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua; vice-chairman and Klang MP Charles Santiago; state secretary and Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San; publicity chief Tiew Way Keng, assistant organising secretary and Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching; political education bureau chief Lee Kee Hiong; Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo; Kajang municipal councillor S.T. Chandra Mohan; and Shah Alam city councillor V. Ganabatirau.
Others include treasurer and Subang Jaya assemblywoman Hannah Yeoh and assistant publicity secretary and Teratai assemblywoman Janice Lee.
Those being mentioned as Teng's allies are veterans like James Ooi, state vice-chairman T. Kannan, senator S. Ramakrishnan, state assistant treasurer M. Batumalai, Lee Ah Seng, Lee Fu Haw, Lim Soon Kang, Ivan Ho, Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim and Michael Soon Kwai Choy.
Santiago and Yeoh are seen as being neutral and they are also said to be on the list of the Justice Reform Team. The Unity team seems to have the upper hand in this contest as it is also perceived to have the backing of the party leadership.
But Teng draws sympathy from the grassroots because he is seen to be consistently sidelined by the party leadership due to his dissenting views. This was evident when Teng was not made an executive councilor in Selangor despite his seniority and instead made the speaker.
The Justice Reform team consists of many disgruntled party veterans, some of whom were bypassed after the success of the 2008 election. Unhappy that young and new members are being given more importance, many of the veterans have rallied behind Teng.
Teng also has the backing of former state organising secretary Tee Boon Hock, who was sacked following the support letter controversy.
Lim Chong Eu's Reminder About Relevance Of The Past
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- The former chief minister of Penang Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu was known to be a person who rarely gave interviews to the media, particularly after he retired from politics.
True to his nature, most of the time, his encounter with the media ended up with only a brief conversation.
However, he agreed to a brief interview with the "Penang Economic Monthly" in its first edition in October last year, where the man, dubbed the architect of Penang's transformation, talked about the powerful relevance of the past on the future.
In the interview, he told the magazine's editor Dr Ooi Kee Beng about matters long past, especially the circumstances under which the British came to the region.
"What was the East India Company? We have to remember that we were actually ruled by this international commercial entity. What creature was this? Many of the early colonialists were in fact basically pirates," he was quoted in the interview.
Dr Lim later encouraged Ooi to check on the history of Province Wellesley, just as an example on how to convince Penangites that they should be interested in the state's early history.
Ooi, who wrote the best-seller "The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and His Time", later recounted the interview he had with Dr Lim, saying "This is part of what I found out. It may be common knowledge that Province Wellesley, which was handed over to British Penang on perpetual lease in 1798, was understandably named after Richard Wellesley, who was then Governor-General of British India."
"What is less known is that the brother of this Irish aristocrat, Arthur, who was nine years younger and who served with great distinction as a military officer in India, went on, as the Duke of Wellington, to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo in 1815.
"Arthur later served for seven months as Prime Minister of Britain in 1828, and though a conservative, he is fondly remembered for overseeing the granting of full civil rights to Catholics in the United Kingdom," Ooi said in the article, "Tun Lim Chong Eu: The Past is Not Passe" published in the magazine's inaugural edition.
Perhaps, it was true that this history had shaped Chong Eu's practical approach in politics when he later decided that it was best for Gerakan to join Barisan Nasional as one of its founding member.
The Penang Economic Monthly quoted Dr Lim as saying: "One must never forget the strands in history. Especially in this part of the world, which is archipelagic, and resources were moved around a lot.
The politics and the economics were therefore always tightly bound together. Production is one thing, but logistics is something else, and equally, if not more, important.
"But after all these years, we are still victims of our geography, and how that configured our thinking. We have not been able to lift ourselves beyond the conditions placed on us by geography."
True to his nature, most of the time, his encounter with the media ended up with only a brief conversation.
However, he agreed to a brief interview with the "Penang Economic Monthly" in its first edition in October last year, where the man, dubbed the architect of Penang's transformation, talked about the powerful relevance of the past on the future.
In the interview, he told the magazine's editor Dr Ooi Kee Beng about matters long past, especially the circumstances under which the British came to the region.
"What was the East India Company? We have to remember that we were actually ruled by this international commercial entity. What creature was this? Many of the early colonialists were in fact basically pirates," he was quoted in the interview.
Dr Lim later encouraged Ooi to check on the history of Province Wellesley, just as an example on how to convince Penangites that they should be interested in the state's early history.
Ooi, who wrote the best-seller "The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and His Time", later recounted the interview he had with Dr Lim, saying "This is part of what I found out. It may be common knowledge that Province Wellesley, which was handed over to British Penang on perpetual lease in 1798, was understandably named after Richard Wellesley, who was then Governor-General of British India."
"What is less known is that the brother of this Irish aristocrat, Arthur, who was nine years younger and who served with great distinction as a military officer in India, went on, as the Duke of Wellington, to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo in 1815.
"Arthur later served for seven months as Prime Minister of Britain in 1828, and though a conservative, he is fondly remembered for overseeing the granting of full civil rights to Catholics in the United Kingdom," Ooi said in the article, "Tun Lim Chong Eu: The Past is Not Passe" published in the magazine's inaugural edition.
Perhaps, it was true that this history had shaped Chong Eu's practical approach in politics when he later decided that it was best for Gerakan to join Barisan Nasional as one of its founding member.
The Penang Economic Monthly quoted Dr Lim as saying: "One must never forget the strands in history. Especially in this part of the world, which is archipelagic, and resources were moved around a lot.
The politics and the economics were therefore always tightly bound together. Production is one thing, but logistics is something else, and equally, if not more, important.
"But after all these years, we are still victims of our geography, and how that configured our thinking. We have not been able to lift ourselves beyond the conditions placed on us by geography."
Don't be fooled by ideologies, DPM tells youths
The Sun
by Karen Arukesamy
"Of late, there are several issues that have been sensationalised and politicised, where the truth can be disputed.
"The issues related to religion, Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees, race relations, freedom of speech and human rights have been heated up and can indirectly create instability and disturb the peace of the country," he said.
Calling the youths to act progressively, Muhyiddin said they should have the right attitude in realising their potential in the fields of economic, social, political, religious and educational development.
Muhyiddin said it is the responsibility of today’s young generation to continue the democratic system for the future generations.
Pointing that there are 11.9 million youths aged 15 to 40, he noted that the government’s recognition to is important so that they can positively contribute to the country and become the core of the country’s development.
by Karen Arukesamy
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25, 2010): Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin cautioned the young generation "not to be fooled" by groups that seem to be championing ideologies that only "sound good".
"Do not be tied to groups that have their own interest although they bring ideologies that sound good.
"Young leaders, do not allow yourselves to be used by these irresponsible people. Do not be deceived by the struggle in which the truth is manipulated," he told student delegates from 21 local universities at the Young Leaders Seminar at parliament today.
The seminar, themed The Young Leaders of Malaysia – Build the Feeling of Togetherness and organised by the Parliament Department, is aimed at raising the student leaders' understanding of the country’s fundamentals.
Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, urged the young leaders to mobilise their energy and propose possible solutions to address issues that can propel the country to become a developed nation.
"Do not be tied to groups that have their own interest although they bring ideologies that sound good.
"Young leaders, do not allow yourselves to be used by these irresponsible people. Do not be deceived by the struggle in which the truth is manipulated," he told student delegates from 21 local universities at the Young Leaders Seminar at parliament today.
The seminar, themed The Young Leaders of Malaysia – Build the Feeling of Togetherness and organised by the Parliament Department, is aimed at raising the student leaders' understanding of the country’s fundamentals.
Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, urged the young leaders to mobilise their energy and propose possible solutions to address issues that can propel the country to become a developed nation.
"Of late, there are several issues that have been sensationalised and politicised, where the truth can be disputed.
"The issues related to religion, Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees, race relations, freedom of speech and human rights have been heated up and can indirectly create instability and disturb the peace of the country," he said.
Calling the youths to act progressively, Muhyiddin said they should have the right attitude in realising their potential in the fields of economic, social, political, religious and educational development.
Muhyiddin said it is the responsibility of today’s young generation to continue the democratic system for the future generations.
Pointing that there are 11.9 million youths aged 15 to 40, he noted that the government’s recognition to is important so that they can positively contribute to the country and become the core of the country’s development.
Tharmendran re-arrested outside Shah Alam Court
(Malaysiakini) There was high drama at the Shah Alam court compound when former Air Force sergeant N Tharmendran was re-arrested by eight Air Force personnel.
The incident occured at 11.45am just after the Shah Alam High Court had fixed Dec 17 for decision on Tharmendran's application to strike out the charge for the theft of two fighter jet engines.On Jan 6, Tharmendran (right), 42, was charged under Section 380, read together with Section 109 of the Penal Code, with theft together with former company director K Rajandra Prasad, 38.
Tharmendran was charged with stealing the jet engines in December 2007 at the air movement section of the RMAF base in Subang.
He is also charged with conspiring in the theft of the two engines with senior serviceman Mohamad Shukri Mohamad Yusop at the material processing shed (Matra 1) of the RMAF base in Sungai Besi.
Torture fears
According to lawyer N Surendran, his client was just outside the court compound when the airmen approached his client and arrested him in front of his father N Nagarajah.
"I told them that Tharmendran is a civilian and the air force had no right to arrest him.
"But according to the Provost Marshall Lt Col Mohd Razif Razak, Tharmendran had been classified as a deserter for missing work since September," he said.
"This is clearly contempt of court. The arrest is unlawful as my client is a civilian who had left the force. I will hold the Defence Ministry and RMAF liable for this."
Surendran said he was told by the provost that his client would undergo a medical examination and would be detained at the Air Force Batu Cantonment centre in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur.
"I told them that Tharmendran is a civilian and the air force had no right to arrest him.
"But according to the Provost Marshall Lt Col Mohd Razif Razak, Tharmendran had been classified as a deserter for missing work since September," he said."This is clearly contempt of court. The arrest is unlawful as my client is a civilian who had left the force. I will hold the Defence Ministry and RMAF liable for this."
Surendran said he was told by the provost that his client would undergo a medical examination and would be detained at the Air Force Batu Cantonment centre in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur.
According to a statement by the Defence Ministry's corporate communications unit, Tharmendran had violated the Armed Forces Act 1972 after failing to report for work after posting bail on Sept 6.
Surendran said that had urged the provost to guarantee that the two senior air force officers who allegedly meted physically torture on Tharmendran be denied access from his client.
“He has agreed to this verbally. However, Nagarajah and I are worried for Tharmendran's safety as they had hurt him before while in custody,” said Surendran, who has previously also claimed that he was threatened by the RMAF.
Surendran said that had urged the provost to guarantee that the two senior air force officers who allegedly meted physically torture on Tharmendran be denied access from his client.
“He has agreed to this verbally. However, Nagarajah and I are worried for Tharmendran's safety as they had hurt him before while in custody,” said Surendran, who has previously also claimed that he was threatened by the RMAF.
Habeas corpus
Surendran said that he will be filing a habeas corpus application soon to seek Tharmendran's release and compel the air force to show cause.
“I will try and get his signature to sign the habeas corpus application. We will file it as soon as possible. They had clearly committed contempt by arresting my client.
"This is a clear violation in the administration of justice... I am also upset that four or five police personnel who were also at the court compound did not do anything," he said.
Surendran said that Tharmendran's contract with the air force had expired on May 28 and it was not renewed.
“Furthermore, my client had not received any wages since then,” he said.
The missing F5E jet engines were allegedly stolen from the RMAF base in Sungai Besi and smuggled to Uruguay.
In October, a Uruguayan court had ruled that the two engines in government custody belonged to Malaysia. The Malaysian Defence Ministry is preparing to retrieve the engines.
“I will try and get his signature to sign the habeas corpus application. We will file it as soon as possible. They had clearly committed contempt by arresting my client.
"This is a clear violation in the administration of justice... I am also upset that four or five police personnel who were also at the court compound did not do anything," he said.
Surendran said that Tharmendran's contract with the air force had expired on May 28 and it was not renewed.
“Furthermore, my client had not received any wages since then,” he said.
The missing F5E jet engines were allegedly stolen from the RMAF base in Sungai Besi and smuggled to Uruguay.
In October, a Uruguayan court had ruled that the two engines in government custody belonged to Malaysia. The Malaysian Defence Ministry is preparing to retrieve the engines.
Pakatan leaders admit BN edge in Indian support
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 — Pakatan Rakyat leaders conceded today to losing at least 60 per cent of Indian community support to Barisan Nasional in the next elections.
They admited that the “Hindraf sentiment” from pre-Election 2008 had long ran out of steam.
To many, BN’s flagging support from the Indian community in Election 2008 had now changed significantly and it was likely that at least 60 per cent of the community’s estimated 750,000 voters would choose the ruling coalition come the next general election.
The leaders also admitted to The Malaysian Insider today that the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition had gained substantial momentum in the past two years due to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s policies and 1 Malaysia platform.
Teluk Intan MP M. Manogaran said that presently, the Indian community voters were the most “confused” of all communities but were quickly returning to BN’s side due to Najib’s popularity.
He claimed that Najib’s 1 Malaysia had successfully “touched” the hearts of the community who now felt that they were finally given recognition, thus bolstering their confidence in the ruling coalition.
“You must understand the Indian mindset. I have worked with them for years when I was the Tamil Foundation chairman. They are simple folks and 1 Malaysia means a lot to them.
“Even in the advertisements, they see the faces of a Malay, a Chinese and an Indian and they think, this is great, Najib is including us,” he said when met in Parliament today.
Manogaran added that the sway of Indian voters towards the Najib Administration was also largely because the government was plying the poor families with more gifts.
“You must not confuse the Chinese with the Indians. To the poor Indian, they are so poor that every little bit counts and a single hamper or sack of rice means the world to them,” he said.
He admitted that this was where PR would fail to compete with BN’s “politics of largesse” but insisted that the opposition pact would stick to its principles of winning support without bribing voters with gifts.
“We do not want to do what the BN is doing. We want to offer meaningful representation to them and we want them to see the bigger picture, that in the long run, we will endeavour to give them even more than these small gifts,” he said.
To that end, Manogaran revealed that in view of intense speculation of snap polls next month, he would be travelling across the country to meet with grassroots leaders and members of the community.
When approached in Parliament, DAP national vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran echoed his colleague’s views and admitted that there was a significant reduction in Indian support for the PR over the past two years.
“The expectations from the community is very high and they believed that when we took over the state governments, we are supposed to address the wrongs of 53 years past.
“But what we are trying to tell them is that we cannot do this so quickly. It takes us time to fix everything,” he said.
On the flip side, BN leaders expressed confidence today when asked for their views on the status of Indian voter support for the ruling coalition.
Instead of blaming the instability in the PR pact as the reason behind the sway, the leaders said that it was Najib’s sterling performance as the nation’s Prime Minister as the major contributing factor.
MIC’s Senator Datuk Daljit Singh told The Malaysian Insider that the swing was shown clearly after several by-elections like in Bagan Pinang, Hulu Selangor and the just-concluded Galas election.
In all three by-elections, BN cruised to a win.
“I think the Indians have now realised that the party they want to work with is the MIC... we are the first partner in the BN alliance so whatever happened in the previous general election when we lost some Indian voter support, it has changed.
“The Hindraf sentiment was new then and it banked on emotions and anger, but now, years down the road, they realise that things have changed,” he said.
His MIC colleague, Datuk S. K. Devamany told The Malaysian Insider that the PM’s approach to engage all different stakeholders in the community had helped boost BN’s chances in the coming election.
“Najib has gone to the ground to address the community’s interests by introducing good policies. And even if implementation of the policies are problematic, he has decided to set up a special implementation taskforce under the Cabinet committee to look into this,” he said.
Devamany added that Najib had also employed a more direct approach to help the community by zeroing on the major problems affecting the Indians in Malaysia.
“We are looking at social problems, we are helping our youths, we are working towards total eradication of poverty, helping the single mothers, helping the school dropouts and many things.
“At least 80 per cent of the poor Indians are actually living in urban areas and we need to formulate workable solutions to help them,” he said.
He noted that monetary aid offered to Tamil schools had also helped to impress the community, who now felt that they were more recognised.
Politicians from both PR and BN also believe that opposition’s dwindling support among the Indian community was largely due to the lack of Indian representation in the component PR parties.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk T. Murugiah told The Malaysian Insider that it was due to this perception that many from the Indian community only sought aid from the MIC.
“They have little representation so they come to us in the MIC.
“Do you know, just last Tuesday, I was there in the MIC headquarters and in one day alone, 400 Indians came forward to us, seeking for help.
“You do not see them going to PR because, which party in PR represents their interests?” he said.
Manogaran also admitted that this would be one of PR’s major downfall in terms of Indian voter support and pointed again to the community’s mindset as a factor.
“They are sentimental people, and yes, it makes a difference if they can see an Indian face there as their representative,” he said.
Today is the three-year anniversary to the infamous Hindraf gathering which saw over 30,000 members of the community march into the city to protest against the unfair policies of the BN government.
However since then, the now outlawed Hindraf movement that organised the November 25, 2007 March has split up, with some leaders favouring the BN government while others either continue with PR parties or have grown disenchanted with both coalitions.
The Indian community has long been seen as a “fixed deposit” vote bank for BN but the march to the Petronas Twin Towers blew the lid on simmering frustration of being left out of development. A majority of Tamils came as labourers who worked on the rubber and oil palm estates but a change from an agrarian to an industrialised economy sidelined them to menial jobs and gangsterism.
The ISA detention of Hindraf leaders after the march was seen as a major factor that swung Indian voters to the opposition in Election 2008, denying the BN government its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament and handing four more states to the PR parties.
They admited that the “Hindraf sentiment” from pre-Election 2008 had long ran out of steam.
To many, BN’s flagging support from the Indian community in Election 2008 had now changed significantly and it was likely that at least 60 per cent of the community’s estimated 750,000 voters would choose the ruling coalition come the next general election.
The leaders also admitted to The Malaysian Insider today that the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition had gained substantial momentum in the past two years due to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s policies and 1 Malaysia platform.
Teluk Intan MP M. Manogaran said that presently, the Indian community voters were the most “confused” of all communities but were quickly returning to BN’s side due to Najib’s popularity.
He claimed that Najib’s 1 Malaysia had successfully “touched” the hearts of the community who now felt that they were finally given recognition, thus bolstering their confidence in the ruling coalition.
“You must understand the Indian mindset. I have worked with them for years when I was the Tamil Foundation chairman. They are simple folks and 1 Malaysia means a lot to them.
“Even in the advertisements, they see the faces of a Malay, a Chinese and an Indian and they think, this is great, Najib is including us,” he said when met in Parliament today.
Manogaran added that the sway of Indian voters towards the Najib Administration was also largely because the government was plying the poor families with more gifts.
“You must not confuse the Chinese with the Indians. To the poor Indian, they are so poor that every little bit counts and a single hamper or sack of rice means the world to them,” he said.
He admitted that this was where PR would fail to compete with BN’s “politics of largesse” but insisted that the opposition pact would stick to its principles of winning support without bribing voters with gifts.
“We do not want to do what the BN is doing. We want to offer meaningful representation to them and we want them to see the bigger picture, that in the long run, we will endeavour to give them even more than these small gifts,” he said.
To that end, Manogaran revealed that in view of intense speculation of snap polls next month, he would be travelling across the country to meet with grassroots leaders and members of the community.
When approached in Parliament, DAP national vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran echoed his colleague’s views and admitted that there was a significant reduction in Indian support for the PR over the past two years.
“The expectations from the community is very high and they believed that when we took over the state governments, we are supposed to address the wrongs of 53 years past.
“But what we are trying to tell them is that we cannot do this so quickly. It takes us time to fix everything,” he said.
On the flip side, BN leaders expressed confidence today when asked for their views on the status of Indian voter support for the ruling coalition.
Instead of blaming the instability in the PR pact as the reason behind the sway, the leaders said that it was Najib’s sterling performance as the nation’s Prime Minister as the major contributing factor.
MIC’s Senator Datuk Daljit Singh told The Malaysian Insider that the swing was shown clearly after several by-elections like in Bagan Pinang, Hulu Selangor and the just-concluded Galas election.
In all three by-elections, BN cruised to a win.
“I think the Indians have now realised that the party they want to work with is the MIC... we are the first partner in the BN alliance so whatever happened in the previous general election when we lost some Indian voter support, it has changed.
“The Hindraf sentiment was new then and it banked on emotions and anger, but now, years down the road, they realise that things have changed,” he said.
His MIC colleague, Datuk S. K. Devamany told The Malaysian Insider that the PM’s approach to engage all different stakeholders in the community had helped boost BN’s chances in the coming election.
“Najib has gone to the ground to address the community’s interests by introducing good policies. And even if implementation of the policies are problematic, he has decided to set up a special implementation taskforce under the Cabinet committee to look into this,” he said.
Devamany added that Najib had also employed a more direct approach to help the community by zeroing on the major problems affecting the Indians in Malaysia.
“We are looking at social problems, we are helping our youths, we are working towards total eradication of poverty, helping the single mothers, helping the school dropouts and many things.
“At least 80 per cent of the poor Indians are actually living in urban areas and we need to formulate workable solutions to help them,” he said.
He noted that monetary aid offered to Tamil schools had also helped to impress the community, who now felt that they were more recognised.
Politicians from both PR and BN also believe that opposition’s dwindling support among the Indian community was largely due to the lack of Indian representation in the component PR parties.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk T. Murugiah told The Malaysian Insider that it was due to this perception that many from the Indian community only sought aid from the MIC.
“They have little representation so they come to us in the MIC.
“Do you know, just last Tuesday, I was there in the MIC headquarters and in one day alone, 400 Indians came forward to us, seeking for help.
“You do not see them going to PR because, which party in PR represents their interests?” he said.
Manogaran also admitted that this would be one of PR’s major downfall in terms of Indian voter support and pointed again to the community’s mindset as a factor.
“They are sentimental people, and yes, it makes a difference if they can see an Indian face there as their representative,” he said.
Today is the three-year anniversary to the infamous Hindraf gathering which saw over 30,000 members of the community march into the city to protest against the unfair policies of the BN government.
However since then, the now outlawed Hindraf movement that organised the November 25, 2007 March has split up, with some leaders favouring the BN government while others either continue with PR parties or have grown disenchanted with both coalitions.
The Indian community has long been seen as a “fixed deposit” vote bank for BN but the march to the Petronas Twin Towers blew the lid on simmering frustration of being left out of development. A majority of Tamils came as labourers who worked on the rubber and oil palm estates but a change from an agrarian to an industrialised economy sidelined them to menial jobs and gangsterism.
The ISA detention of Hindraf leaders after the march was seen as a major factor that swung Indian voters to the opposition in Election 2008, denying the BN government its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament and handing four more states to the PR parties.
Sosilawati's case: Farm worker claims police forced him to enter guilty plea
SHAH ALAM: A farm worker today filed a notice of motion to present evidence to show that he was forced by police to enter a guilty plea to a charge of disposing of evidence in the murder of cosmetics queen Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.
K Sarawanan, 19, who was sentenced to seven years' jail by the Telok Datuk magistrate's court in Banting on Oct 15, claimed he was assaulted and threatened with shooting, and forced to lie and enter a guilty plea without his consent.
Sarawanan filed the notice through lawyer AS Dhaliwal, seeking to amend and make correction to the details of facts presented by the magistrate's court to give a "true and accurate picture" of the case.
Following the notice, High Court Judge Mohtarudin Baki, who was to hear the application for a review of the sentence today, postponed the hearing to Jan 10 to allow the prosecution to reply to the notice.
Meanwhile, lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, who is holding a watching brief for the accused, N Pathmanabhan, had also filed an application to allow him to interject during the hearing, saying the proceedings involving Sarawanan could prejudice his client and three other accused.
On Oct 13, Pathmanabhan, 41, a lawyer, as well as farm workers T Thilaiyalagan, 19, R Matan, 20, and R Khatavarayan, 30, were charged in the Telok Datuk magistrate's court with killing Sosilawati and three others.
- Bernama
K Sarawanan, 19, who was sentenced to seven years' jail by the Telok Datuk magistrate's court in Banting on Oct 15, claimed he was assaulted and threatened with shooting, and forced to lie and enter a guilty plea without his consent.
Sarawanan filed the notice through lawyer AS Dhaliwal, seeking to amend and make correction to the details of facts presented by the magistrate's court to give a "true and accurate picture" of the case.
Following the notice, High Court Judge Mohtarudin Baki, who was to hear the application for a review of the sentence today, postponed the hearing to Jan 10 to allow the prosecution to reply to the notice.
Meanwhile, lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, who is holding a watching brief for the accused, N Pathmanabhan, had also filed an application to allow him to interject during the hearing, saying the proceedings involving Sarawanan could prejudice his client and three other accused.
On Oct 13, Pathmanabhan, 41, a lawyer, as well as farm workers T Thilaiyalagan, 19, R Matan, 20, and R Khatavarayan, 30, were charged in the Telok Datuk magistrate's court with killing Sosilawati and three others.
- Bernama
Musa moves to consolidate his position
EXCLUSIVE KOTA KINABALU: Riding high on the heels of a Barisan Nasional (BN) election victory in Batu Sapi, Chief Minister Musa Aman is moving in for the kill in the battle with his nemesis, Minister of Rural and Regional Development and Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal, for control of the state.
The State Assembly sitting winds up this evening and Musa will chair the state Umno liaison committee meeting later tonight where a reshuffle (and some fireworks) is expected as he attempts to tighten his grip on power.
Many believe that Shafie has hacked away at Musa's near absolute control of the state over the last few months and that the chief minister is eager to reassert his grip following BN's victory in the Batu Sapi by-election earlier this month.
According to sources, a revolt is fomenting within the Sabah Umno Youth headed by Azman Ruslan.
Azman, who is the Keningau Umno division youth leader, is reportedly within Shafie's inner circle.
"Those close to Musa are preparing to send a motion of no confidence against Azman," said a source who requested anonymity.
"They are planning to send a memorandum to the Prime Minister and Umno president (Najib Tun Razak). They have about 21 signatures from various youth divisions. I don't know if they are all the heads of the divisions.
"What is clear is that they want Azman removed. Musa is consolidating his position," the source said.
Putting his men in place
Those rebelling against Azman are said to be those controlled by Musa. There are 25 Umno Youth divisions in Sabah.
The Sabah Umno liaison committee is headed by Musa. Former CM Salleh Said, Musa's science advisor, is the deputy chairman.
The other top guns in the committee are Deputy Chief Minister Yahya Hussin, who is the Putatan division head and state secretary while state Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Masidi Manjun is assistant secretary.
Sipitang MP Sapawi Ahmad is the information chief and state Local Government and Housing Minister Hajiji Noor is treasurer.
Yahya, Masidi and Hajiji are not viewed as enthusiastic Musa supporters.
The others in the committee are the 25 state Umno division heads and youth leaders.
Musa is expected to manouevre his people into key positions and dilute Shafie's influence in the state despite the fact that the rural and regional development minister was key to the BN victory in Batu Sapi.
Shahrukh Khan, empty promises and snap polls
By FMT StaffKUALA LUMPUR: A former Umno state assemblyman has cautioned Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to tread carefully about calling a snap election.
He advised the premier to be wary of “overzealous news carriers” claiming that the time had come to bring out the ballot boxes.
“The recent victories in Galas and Batu Sapi (by-elections) were no indicators of a changing tide in people's affection,” said Mohd Arrif Sabri in his blog, Sakmongkol AK47.
“Galas was won on account of Tengku Razaleigh (Hamzah). Batu Sapi's victory leaves a sour after taste. (Umno vice-president) Shafie Apdal worked hard to deliver victory at Batu Sapi. Good for him, though not necessarily for Barisan Nasional,” he added
The former Pulau Manis state assemblyman, whose seat was under Najib's Pekan parliamentary constituency, said the people were looking for success stories. “Where are they?” he asked.
Focusing on two events involving Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, he said: “Success at carrying out an Islamic fashion show in Monaco doesn't conjure a feel-good approval.”
Rosmah was the patron of the Islamic festival held in Monte Carlo last month.
“Those attending the Bakti bash the other day were also not impressed by the attendance of Shahrukh Khan and a bevy of Bollywood beauties gracing the event,” added Mohd Arrif.
Bakti is the association of wives of ministers and deputy ministers, which is headed by Rosmah.
Mohd Arrif said while the people respected the concern of the Sultan of Selangor over the RM300,000 dinner party by the state-owned Yayasan Selangor, they were also eager to know how much the spenders had spent on the Islamic fashion show in Monaco or the same event at St Regis New York.
“Can Jamie Fox, Robert Deniro or Charlize Theron provide any semblance of accreditation that Islamic fashion has arrived? These elaborate public relation exercises are too far removed from the exacting demands of life and reality in Malaysia,” he added.
Umno, byword for arrogance
According to Mohd Arrif, the people wanted to see a purge of the Umno leadership, since the party's name had now become a byword for “arrogance and detachment from reality”.
“Staying in power isn't the result of only Umno people voting. It's the people. You go around, they still utter expletives against Umno. To me this signifies a general attitude that is worrying.
“What are people looking for? First, they want to see an Umno leadership composed of young or old committed to the greater good of society. They simply want good men at the helm...,” he added.
The Umno man, who is trained in economics, said the people also had their eyes peeled on the economy.
“With the appreciation of our currency, our exports will become relatively more expensive and we can expect export earnings to shrink. In major towns, the price of homes is getting more expensive by the day. In Selangor, Malays are selling their houses in Taman Tun because of better price. With this demographic shift, Umno-BN can forget about regaining Selangor,” he said.
'Arrest two or three ministers'
Mohd Arrif also stressed that the main scourge of this country was still corruption at almost every level of government and among political leaders.
“In Hong Kong, the ICAC (Independent Commission Against Corruption) will check bank accounts of top government officers including former top cops to see if they had accumulated money beyond their salaries. Would that happen in Malaysia?
“The best thing that could shore up Najib's credibility and seriousness was to arrest two or three ministers,” he said.
Mohd Arrif also cautioned Umno against making a decision on the perceived weakness of PKR and Pakatan Rakyat, saying that the opposition party was merely going through a phase of bloodletting.
“They would regroup and reunite. Don't use Zaid Ibrahim as a yardstick. If he forms another political party, he would fade into oblivion. His only chance to stand as candidate would probably be as PAS candidate.
“Zaid made the mistake of forgetting why PKR was formed in the first place, having as one of its core missions, seeking justice for Anwar. It's in their DNA and Zaid just cannot wish this away,” he said.
In view of this, Mohd Arrif called on Umno to decide on the basis of its own strength.
“This involves an honest evaluation of the readiness of the combat troops on the ground, the acceptance of the people of Umno and BN and putting up winnable candidates.
“The government in addition must earn the respect of the public. It must show some success stories. The public is weary of empty promises. They now want action."
"The clamouring is in line with Najib's commitment to uphold rule of law and imposing zero tolerance on corruption,” he said.The Umno politician also lamented that every avenue of government spending was seen as a chance to skim the fat.
“The purchase of laptop computers which could be gotten at maybe RM200 from China are sold at RM1,000 apiece. A project such as building the new LCCT2 would incur cost overruns. Those people doing the costing and the quantity surveyors must have been boozed out of their heads to undercost the project the first time around.
“The purchase of capital items seems to be always overpriced because it incorporates the tea money meant for retiring KSUs (secretaries-general of ministries) and so forth. A former KSU of the home ministry sits on the board of the Lotus group and you wonder how on earth Lotus restaurants get unlimited supply of foreign workers,” he said.
“So, please Mr Prime Minister be your own counsel. You have been at this game since 1976. You are better at reading the tea leaves than others,” he added.
'World is watching you, my lord'
KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is not the only person on trial. The Malaysian legal system is too, said lead counsel Karpal Singh today.
The veteran lawyer also reminded High Court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah that the world was watching the events unfolding at the Sodomy II trial.
Karpal said this when applying for the judge to recuse himself from hearing the case.
“Your lordship is under scrutiny and Malaysia's legal system is on trial as a result of this case,” he said, citing United States' Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's call for Anwar to be given a fair trial and the presence of US embassy officials in the courtroom as proof.
In view of this, he said if there was real danger of bias, the judge must recuse himself.
He also related a Federal Court finding, where the late Justice Abdul Malek Ahmad had reprimanded the then Anwar trial judge Augustine Paul.
In the judgment, Karpal said, Abdul Malek had remarked that Paul had acted as if in defence of the public prosecutor.
Following this he read the court proceeding notes regarding the defence's complaint against Justice Zabidin when the latter said he could not compel Hospital Kuala Lumpur forensics pathologist Dr Siew Sheue Feng to disclose the medical notes.
Threatened with contempt
In the ensuing verbal tussle two days ago, Karpal noted that the judge had “threatened” him with contempt, which the senior lawyer claimed was unwarrented as he was merely ensuring the interests of his client.
Justice Zabidin later withdrew the threat, and conceded that it was improper.
Karpal, in his submission this morning, reieterated that it was improper for the judge to intimidate the counsel and stressed that was why his client wanted Justice Zabidin to be disqualified.
The counsel said that judges must be fair and impartial, noting a case where former High Court judge, KC Vohrah, had agreed to recuse himself.
Karpal also referred to the Judges Code of Ethics 2009.
"Under the code, judges can be subject to disciplinary proceedings if found to be biased. I am giving your lordship a gentle reminder, your lordship must carefully consider, if your lordship insists on carrying on, you must be prepared for the consequences. A judge cannot act as he pleases as they are now subject to new laws, legislation and convention," he said.
Karpal also referred to the Judges Ethics Committee Act 2010, where judges were required to execute their duties without prejudice.
Citing the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct 2002 which stipulates the need for judicial integrity, he said that judges must abide by this.
Karpal said Justice Zabidin's threat had an effect on his client who wanted an independent, fair and impartial hearing.
Solicitor-general II Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, who is leading the prosecution team, was not present in court as he was ill.
Following Karpal's submission, DPP Mohd Hanafiah Zakaria told Justice Zabidin that they needed time to prepare submission since Yusof was unwell.
Zabidin allowed the case to resume at 8.30am tomorrow for the prosecution to reply.
New evidence of PKR polls misconduct
By Teoh El Sen - Free Malaysia Today,
PETALING JAYA: With less than 48 hours to go before PKR holds its annual congress – where the winners of the party polls will be declared – fresh evidence has emerged on alleged malpractices.
FMT today received a series of photographs from a source who questioned the neutrality of the party's central election committee (CEC) officers during the polls.
According to the source, the photographs were evidence of misconduct and lack of impartiality in the conduct of the elections in PKR divisions in Merbok and Kubang Pasu, Kedah; and Bukit Katil, Malacca.
Two of the photographs purportedly showed CEC officers in Merbok directly intervening in the marking of the ballot papers.The photos were captioned:"Officer ordering the voter where to mark" and "photograph proves that officer marked the ballot paper (himself)".
The source also claimed that the photographs clearly showed that CEC officers were wearing badges depicting Azmin Ali, which indicated support for the now incoming deputy president.
"The photographs clearly showed that CEC officers and counting agents in the Bukit Katil division were wearing the badges of Azmin. There is no neutrality here," said the source.
Another photograph showed the chief CEC officer in Kubang Pasu spotting the same badge, but the source said he removed it when he was reprimanded.
When contacted, CEC secretary Radin Shamsulkamar Radin Shamsuddin said the party would definitely investigate the allegations.
"However, we need a PKR member to lodge a complaint as we also need to know who is the complainant."It's like lodging a police report; the victim would have to provide information to the police, right?"
Radin said it would be difficult for the party to pick up cases from the media in order to investigate.
Many of you may not have realised it but Muhyiddin was actually whacking PERKASA. He did not, of course, mention PERKASA by name but even an idiot can see that the target of these attacks is PERKASA.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Muhyiddin Tells Youth: Don't Fall into Trap of Self-Interest Groups
(Bernama) - Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin reminded the younger generation not to let themselves to be manipulated by what he described as self-interest groups whose struggle may seem admirable at first but is actually based on skewed agenda.
Speaking at the Young Malaysian Leaders seminar at parliament house today, Muhyiddin, who is Education Minister, said the young leaders should not be easily hoodwinked into believing in a struggle that is no longer based on the truth.
"Lately in Malaysia we see issues are being sensationalized and politicized... religious issues, the law such as the Internal Security Act, race relations, freedom of speech and human rights are becoming the subject of intense debates which could affect race relation and undermine peace.”
"You as young leaders should not let yourselves be used by these irresponsible groups," he said at the seminar attended by Senate President Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang and Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
The younger generation, he said, should instead galvanize their energies towards helping to find solutions to the relevant issues and help propel Malaysia into a developed country.
"The younger leaders should act in a progressive manner and nurture the right attitude in order to realise their potentials and help build the country," he said, adding that the government had put in place various programmes to ensure the country's human capital are of high integrity.
The government, he said, viewed seriously the development needs of the younger generation.
There are 11.9 million people aged between 15 and 40 currently, he said.
"Your are an important generation who can be assessors, moderators and agents of change in creating a large pool of human capital whose thinking is in tune with the world's development.”
"It is our hope that the younger generation and students like you can think rationally and objectively and not be easily influence by negative elements," he said.
******************************************
That was what the Deputy Prime Minister said. Now please note these salient points in his speech:
1. manipulated by what he described as self-interest groups
2. based on skewed agenda
3. hoodwinked into believing in a struggle that is no longer based on the truth
4. religious issues, the law such as the Internal Security Act, race relations, freedom of speech and human rights are becoming the subject of intense debates which could affect race relation and undermine peace
5. you should not let yourselves be used by these irresponsible groups
6. help find solutions to the relevant issues and help propel Malaysia into a developed country
7. think rationally and objectively and not be easily influence by negative elements
Many of you may not have realised it but Muhyiddin was actually whacking PERKASA. He did not, of course, mention PERKASA by name but even an idiot can see that the target of these attacks is PERKASA.
1. manipulated by what he described as self-interest groups – PERKASA
2. based on skewed agenda – PERKASA
3. hoodwinked into believing in a struggle that is no longer based on the truth – PERKASA
4. religious issues, the law such as the Internal Security Act, race relations, freedom of speech and human rights are becoming the subject of intense debates which could affect race relation and undermine peace – PERKASA
5. you should not let yourselves be used by these irresponsible groups – PERKASA
6. help find solutions to the relevant issues and help propel Malaysia into a developed country – PERKASA
7. think rationally and objectively and not be easily influence by negative elements – PERKASA
On item 4, PERKASA is playing up race and religious issues and is saying that the Internal Security Act (ISA) should not only be retained but must be used against those who question Malay rights and privileges. PERKASA argues that those who question Malay rights and privileges are pushing the country to the brink of May 13 Version 2. Therefore, they should be detained under the ISA.
Muhyiddin is a smart cookie. He knows that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak secretly supports PERKASA. So, to undermine Najib, Muhyiddin is whacking PERKASA. But he has done it so subtly that I am sure many of you did not realise this.
As I said, even an idiot can see that the target of these attacks is PERKASA. Or is it I am an idiot instead for thinking that the target of the attacks is PERKASA? But then if it is not PERKASA who is doing all this who else can it be?
Shielding fraud behind a Mahathir ouster clause?
On 21st September, in relation to the alleged sacking of PKR former deputy sec-gen Jenapala Perumal subaan, I wrote in my ‘The noose is tightening…’ post :
“I spoke to Saifudin a little while ago, whilst earlier this morning, I spoke to Jenapala and another PKR insider who would definitely be in the know as to the goings-on in the party at the material time.
Jenapala confirmed that he had never received any show cause notice from the party, nor was called to attend any disciplinary committee inquiry. He said that to-date, he has not received any formal notification of any decision by the party supreme council of his sacking and his right to appeal any such decision.
“If I was sacked in February, 2009 as they now claim, why would I join Dato Seri Anwar and campaign in the Hulu Selangor by-elections last April?” , Jenapala asked.
The party insider who spoke to me earlier today confirms Jenapala’s claims.
“Salleh ( the former party Sec-Gen ) would be able to confirm whether any disciplinary proceedings were commenced, but I am very certain there has not been any decision of the supreme council in February, 2009 or before, to sack Jenapala. Something is not right. Saifudin better check his facts”, the person said.
Saifudin informed me that when he checked the records at party HQ yesterday, he came upon a letter issued from HQ to Jenapala of and concerning the latter”s sacking from the party.
I asked who had signed the letter.
Saifudin said that he could not recall and that he would be re-checking to ascertain that fact”.
On 23rd September, in my ‘Was Jenapala sacked or not?…’ post, I wrote :
“PKR Sec-Gen Saifudin Nasution held a press conference yesterday where he reiterated once again that deputy president aspirant Jenapala Perumal Subaan had been sacked from the party. Malaysiakini has the report HERE.
I was on the phone with Saifudin twice today.
In the first, I asked if he had confirmation of the letter that he had told me earlier had been sent to Jenapala to notify him of the latter’s sacking from the party.
What was the date of the letter and who signed it, I asked.
Saifudin confirmed that the letter was issued in February, 2009 and signed by the then Sec-Gen, Sallehuddin Hashim”.
My several attempts to get a copy of that letter proved futile.
Jenapala took the matter of his alleged sacking to court.
He wanted the court to declare, amongst other things, that he was still a member of PKR.
He named Wan Azizah, Syed Husin, and Saifudin as defendants.
The matter came up for hearing today.
To oppose Jenapala’s contention that he was still a member of the party, Saifudin filed an affidavit-in-reply.
In this affidavit, the letter by which Jenapala was said to have been notified of his sacking was finally disclosed.
It is a letter dated 2nd February, 2009 and purports to have been signed by then PKR sec-gen Sallehudin Hashim.
Sallehuddin then filed an affidavit to refute the authenticity of this letter.
These documents have now all been posted at MalaysiaToday.
Sallehuddin emphatically swears that :
According to counsel for PKR, “the judge had found in their favour after a three-hour proceeding in chambers based on section 18(c) of the Societies Act”.
Co-counsel for PKR, Razlan Hadri Zulkifli, is quoted as saying : “The judge is essentially saying, ‘Politicians, take your woes elsewhere’ or else the courts will be filled up with complaints from disgruntled politicians”.
For the uninitiated, Section 18C of the Societies Act, 1966 was introduced by an amendment in 1990 following the mess that UMNO found itself in after the numerous challenges to decisions taken by Mahathir.
Section 18C : The decision of a political party or any person authorised by it or by its constitution or rules or regulations made thereunder on the interpretation of its constitution, rules or regulations or on any matter relating to the affairs of the party shall be final and conclusive and such decision shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or called in question in any court on any ground, and no court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or determine any suit, application, question or proceeding on any ground regarding the validity of such decision.
Basically, Mahathir did not want any decision of the party to be challenged in court.
So he contrived to have the ouster clause that section 18C really is introduced into our law.
Malaysiakini also reports PKR v-p Sivarasa to be quite pleased with the outcome of the case today.
I guess Siva’s viewpoint on ouster clauses has changed somewhat of late.
Can someone please remind me what the ‘K’ in PKR stands for.
“I spoke to Saifudin a little while ago, whilst earlier this morning, I spoke to Jenapala and another PKR insider who would definitely be in the know as to the goings-on in the party at the material time.
Jenapala confirmed that he had never received any show cause notice from the party, nor was called to attend any disciplinary committee inquiry. He said that to-date, he has not received any formal notification of any decision by the party supreme council of his sacking and his right to appeal any such decision.
“If I was sacked in February, 2009 as they now claim, why would I join Dato Seri Anwar and campaign in the Hulu Selangor by-elections last April?” , Jenapala asked.
The party insider who spoke to me earlier today confirms Jenapala’s claims.
“Salleh ( the former party Sec-Gen ) would be able to confirm whether any disciplinary proceedings were commenced, but I am very certain there has not been any decision of the supreme council in February, 2009 or before, to sack Jenapala. Something is not right. Saifudin better check his facts”, the person said.
Saifudin informed me that when he checked the records at party HQ yesterday, he came upon a letter issued from HQ to Jenapala of and concerning the latter”s sacking from the party.
I asked who had signed the letter.
Saifudin said that he could not recall and that he would be re-checking to ascertain that fact”.
On 23rd September, in my ‘Was Jenapala sacked or not?…’ post, I wrote :
“PKR Sec-Gen Saifudin Nasution held a press conference yesterday where he reiterated once again that deputy president aspirant Jenapala Perumal Subaan had been sacked from the party. Malaysiakini has the report HERE.
I was on the phone with Saifudin twice today.
In the first, I asked if he had confirmation of the letter that he had told me earlier had been sent to Jenapala to notify him of the latter’s sacking from the party.
What was the date of the letter and who signed it, I asked.
Saifudin confirmed that the letter was issued in February, 2009 and signed by the then Sec-Gen, Sallehuddin Hashim”.
My several attempts to get a copy of that letter proved futile.
Jenapala took the matter of his alleged sacking to court.
He wanted the court to declare, amongst other things, that he was still a member of PKR.
He named Wan Azizah, Syed Husin, and Saifudin as defendants.
The matter came up for hearing today.
To oppose Jenapala’s contention that he was still a member of the party, Saifudin filed an affidavit-in-reply.
In this affidavit, the letter by which Jenapala was said to have been notified of his sacking was finally disclosed.
It is a letter dated 2nd February, 2009 and purports to have been signed by then PKR sec-gen Sallehudin Hashim.
Sallehuddin then filed an affidavit to refute the authenticity of this letter.
These documents have now all been posted at MalaysiaToday.
Sallehuddin emphatically swears that :
- the letter was never issued or authorised to be issued by him
- Jenapala was never sacked during Sallehuddin’s tenure
- the minutes of the meeting of the party politburo on 30/8/2009 bears out that the party was then contemplating whether to suspend Jenapala
According to counsel for PKR, “the judge had found in their favour after a three-hour proceeding in chambers based on section 18(c) of the Societies Act”.
Co-counsel for PKR, Razlan Hadri Zulkifli, is quoted as saying : “The judge is essentially saying, ‘Politicians, take your woes elsewhere’ or else the courts will be filled up with complaints from disgruntled politicians”.
For the uninitiated, Section 18C of the Societies Act, 1966 was introduced by an amendment in 1990 following the mess that UMNO found itself in after the numerous challenges to decisions taken by Mahathir.
Section 18C : The decision of a political party or any person authorised by it or by its constitution or rules or regulations made thereunder on the interpretation of its constitution, rules or regulations or on any matter relating to the affairs of the party shall be final and conclusive and such decision shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or called in question in any court on any ground, and no court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or determine any suit, application, question or proceeding on any ground regarding the validity of such decision.
Basically, Mahathir did not want any decision of the party to be challenged in court.
So he contrived to have the ouster clause that section 18C really is introduced into our law.
Malaysiakini also reports PKR v-p Sivarasa to be quite pleased with the outcome of the case today.
I guess Siva’s viewpoint on ouster clauses has changed somewhat of late.
Can someone please remind me what the ‘K’ in PKR stands for.
Chong Eu a great Penangite, a great Malaysian, and a great patriot
Mysinchew.com
Wednesday 24 November 2010 was a sad day for Malaysians, especially Penangites. It was on that day that the beloved Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu passed away.
Chong Eu was born in Penang on Wednesday 28 May 1919 to a young medical doctor Dr Lim Chwee Leong and his wife Cheah Swee Hoon. He was given the name Chong Eu, which roughly translated from Chinese means “heaven’s blessing”.
Dr Lim Chwee Leong was just 22 years old when he graduated as medical doctor and left his hometown of Singapore to work and settle in Penang. The young doctor’s decision to make Penang his permanent abode was certainly a heavenly blessing for the island state as his first child Chong Eu was destined to be the person who would bring abundant blessings to the people of Penang.
Chong Eu was born and grew up during a very exciting epoch-making period of world history, involving two great World Wars, several national revolutions, especially those of Russia and China, many regional wars, including the Korean War and Vietnam War, and the emergence of the anti-colonialism liberation movement in the Third World countries.
Several months before Chong Eu was born, World War I that began in the middle of 1914 had just ended in late 1918. The world was then in the midst of recovering from the Great War, which involved more than 70 million military personnel, with nearly 10 million killed.
And during the month of Chong Eu’s birth, an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement called the May Fourth Movement was launched in China following student demonstrations in Beijing on 4 May 1919 to protest against the Treaty of Versailles, especially Article 156, which made Shando a territory under the Japanese administration. The May Fourth Movement was in the vogue during 1915 to1921, and was later called the New Culture Movement.
Hence, Chong Eu grew up in a world undergoing a process of transition and transformation, with nary a year passing without any new conflict or crisis somewhere in the world. Obviously, the cultural, socio-political, and intellectual and emotive impact and influence helped mould the growing intelligent young boy destined for greatness.
Chong Eu had his primary and secondary education in Penang. He was originally enrolled in a girls’ school, but was transferred to the Hutchings School where he completed his primary education, and went on to study at the famous Penang Free School, which produced, among other national leaders, the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Chong Eu completed his secondary school in 1937 with excellent scholastic distinction and achievement, and went to England for his tertiary studies in 1938.
Few people know that Chong Eu studied law at Gray’s Inn before he took up medical studies at the University of Edinburgh as a King’s Scholar, graduating in 1944. His stint at Gray’s Inn proved to be a valuable experience and beneficial preparation for his life career as a politician and chief minister.
His time in England, which coincided with the period of World War II, lasting from 1939 to 1945, was not only an adventurous learning experience for him, but an enlightening exposure to the real suffering of people, especially after he observed the cruel atrocities and inhumanity of Nazism in Europe.
Chong Eu said that his decision to enter politics was largely due to the impact and influence of the ferocity of the socio-political storm sweeping the world during his student days in England.
Hence, Chong Eu felt strongly that people of principles should to come forward to stand up and be counted to help make the world a better place to live in.
Chong Eu told me this when I met him in Adelaide during the Penang Festival held there in 1974. I was then the publicity secretary and editor of the Malaysian Students Union in South Australia, and was helping the Penang state government in organising the first Penang Festival in Adelaide after the twinning of the two cities. Penang was founded by Captain Francis Light in 1786, while Adelaide was established by his grandson Colonel William Light in 1836.
As a politician, Chong Eu represents a rare breed of honest, bold, brave and courageous characters, who are undaunted and fearless in the defence of truth, honesty, freedom, and human rights.
For example, Chong Eu, who joined the MCA in 1952 and was its president from March 1958 to July 1959, quit as the president when he could not accept what he considered as unfair treatment of the party by the then Umno president Tunku Abdul Rahman, and was not fully supported by his party colleagues in his reform plan.
Chong Eu was perhaps the only MCA leader so far who dared to stand up fearlessly to the Umno leadership. He could have “behaved” himself and just do what the Umno leaders wanted him to do, like most of the MCA presidents after him, and he would have been given big position and great honour in the Alliance coalition federal government. But Chong Eu stood firm on his conviction and principles.
Even after his party Gerakan joined the Barisan Nasional in 1972, Chong Eu did not compromise his political beliefs and principles, and was much respected by the various prime ministers and Umno during the term of his office as Gerakan president and chief minister of Penang.
Chong Eu is surely a great Penangite, a great Malaysian, and a great patriot. The nation owns much to this great man. Much more could be written about him, but what is the most significant is that he is one person who has made Penang a great place to live and work in, and Penangites are forever in his debt.
He may be gone, but two great structures in Penang stand as testimonies to this great architect of Penang — Komtar and the Penang Bridge. Komtar is named after our second Prime Minister Tun Adbul Razak. I think we should name the Penang Bridge after Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.
Wednesday 24 November 2010 was a sad day for Malaysians, especially Penangites. It was on that day that the beloved Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu passed away.
Chong Eu was born in Penang on Wednesday 28 May 1919 to a young medical doctor Dr Lim Chwee Leong and his wife Cheah Swee Hoon. He was given the name Chong Eu, which roughly translated from Chinese means “heaven’s blessing”.
Dr Lim Chwee Leong was just 22 years old when he graduated as medical doctor and left his hometown of Singapore to work and settle in Penang. The young doctor’s decision to make Penang his permanent abode was certainly a heavenly blessing for the island state as his first child Chong Eu was destined to be the person who would bring abundant blessings to the people of Penang.
Chong Eu was born and grew up during a very exciting epoch-making period of world history, involving two great World Wars, several national revolutions, especially those of Russia and China, many regional wars, including the Korean War and Vietnam War, and the emergence of the anti-colonialism liberation movement in the Third World countries.
Several months before Chong Eu was born, World War I that began in the middle of 1914 had just ended in late 1918. The world was then in the midst of recovering from the Great War, which involved more than 70 million military personnel, with nearly 10 million killed.
And during the month of Chong Eu’s birth, an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement called the May Fourth Movement was launched in China following student demonstrations in Beijing on 4 May 1919 to protest against the Treaty of Versailles, especially Article 156, which made Shando a territory under the Japanese administration. The May Fourth Movement was in the vogue during 1915 to1921, and was later called the New Culture Movement.
Hence, Chong Eu grew up in a world undergoing a process of transition and transformation, with nary a year passing without any new conflict or crisis somewhere in the world. Obviously, the cultural, socio-political, and intellectual and emotive impact and influence helped mould the growing intelligent young boy destined for greatness.
Chong Eu had his primary and secondary education in Penang. He was originally enrolled in a girls’ school, but was transferred to the Hutchings School where he completed his primary education, and went on to study at the famous Penang Free School, which produced, among other national leaders, the first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Chong Eu completed his secondary school in 1937 with excellent scholastic distinction and achievement, and went to England for his tertiary studies in 1938.
Few people know that Chong Eu studied law at Gray’s Inn before he took up medical studies at the University of Edinburgh as a King’s Scholar, graduating in 1944. His stint at Gray’s Inn proved to be a valuable experience and beneficial preparation for his life career as a politician and chief minister.
His time in England, which coincided with the period of World War II, lasting from 1939 to 1945, was not only an adventurous learning experience for him, but an enlightening exposure to the real suffering of people, especially after he observed the cruel atrocities and inhumanity of Nazism in Europe.
Chong Eu said that his decision to enter politics was largely due to the impact and influence of the ferocity of the socio-political storm sweeping the world during his student days in England.
Hence, Chong Eu felt strongly that people of principles should to come forward to stand up and be counted to help make the world a better place to live in.
Chong Eu told me this when I met him in Adelaide during the Penang Festival held there in 1974. I was then the publicity secretary and editor of the Malaysian Students Union in South Australia, and was helping the Penang state government in organising the first Penang Festival in Adelaide after the twinning of the two cities. Penang was founded by Captain Francis Light in 1786, while Adelaide was established by his grandson Colonel William Light in 1836.
As a politician, Chong Eu represents a rare breed of honest, bold, brave and courageous characters, who are undaunted and fearless in the defence of truth, honesty, freedom, and human rights.
For example, Chong Eu, who joined the MCA in 1952 and was its president from March 1958 to July 1959, quit as the president when he could not accept what he considered as unfair treatment of the party by the then Umno president Tunku Abdul Rahman, and was not fully supported by his party colleagues in his reform plan.
Chong Eu was perhaps the only MCA leader so far who dared to stand up fearlessly to the Umno leadership. He could have “behaved” himself and just do what the Umno leaders wanted him to do, like most of the MCA presidents after him, and he would have been given big position and great honour in the Alliance coalition federal government. But Chong Eu stood firm on his conviction and principles.
Even after his party Gerakan joined the Barisan Nasional in 1972, Chong Eu did not compromise his political beliefs and principles, and was much respected by the various prime ministers and Umno during the term of his office as Gerakan president and chief minister of Penang.
Chong Eu is surely a great Penangite, a great Malaysian, and a great patriot. The nation owns much to this great man. Much more could be written about him, but what is the most significant is that he is one person who has made Penang a great place to live and work in, and Penangites are forever in his debt.
He may be gone, but two great structures in Penang stand as testimonies to this great architect of Penang — Komtar and the Penang Bridge. Komtar is named after our second Prime Minister Tun Adbul Razak. I think we should name the Penang Bridge after Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.
Lim Chong Eu's Reminder About Relevance Of The Past
By Alan Ting
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- The former chief minister of Penang Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu was known to be a person who rarely gave interviews to the media, particularly after he retired from politics.
True to his nature, most of the time, his encounter with the media ended up with only a brief conversation.
However, he agreed to a brief interview with the "Penang Economic Monthly" in its first edition in October last year, where the man, dubbed the architect of Penang's transformation, talked about the powerful relevance of the past on the future.
In the interview, he told the magazine's editor Dr Ooi Kee Beng about matters long past, especially the circumstances under which the British came to the region.
"What was the East India Company? We have to remember that we were actually ruled by this international commercial entity. What creature was this? Many of the early colonialists were in fact basically pirates," he was quoted in the interview.
Dr Lim later encouraged Ooi to check on the history of Province Wellesley, just as an example on how to convince Penangites that they should be interested in the state's early history.
Ooi, who wrote the best-seller "The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and His Time", later recounted the interview he had with Dr Lim, saying "This is part of what I found out. It may be common knowledge that Province Wellesley, which was handed over to British Penang on perpetual lease in 1798, was understandably named after Richard Wellesley, who was then Governor-General of British India."
"What is less known is that the brother of this Irish aristocrat, Arthur, who was nine years younger and who served with great distinction as a military officer in India, went on, as the Duke of Wellington, to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo in 1815.
"Arthur later served for seven months as Prime Minister of Britain in 1828, and though a conservative, he is fondly remembered for overseeing the granting of full civil rights to Catholics in the United Kingdom," Ooi said in the article, "Tun Lim Chong Eu: The Past is Not Passe" published in the magazine's inaugural edition.
Perhaps, it was true that this history had shaped Chong Eu's practical approach in politics when he later decided that it was best for Gerakan to join Barisan Nasional as one of its founding member.
The Penang Economic Monthly quoted Dr Lim as saying: "One must never forget the strands in history. Especially in this part of the world, which is archipelagic, and resources were moved around a lot.
The politics and the economics were therefore always tightly bound together. Production is one thing, but logistics is something else, and equally, if not more, important.
"But after all these years, we are still victims of our geography, and how that configured our thinking. We have not been able to lift ourselves beyond the conditions placed on us by geography."
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- The former chief minister of Penang Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu was known to be a person who rarely gave interviews to the media, particularly after he retired from politics.
True to his nature, most of the time, his encounter with the media ended up with only a brief conversation.
However, he agreed to a brief interview with the "Penang Economic Monthly" in its first edition in October last year, where the man, dubbed the architect of Penang's transformation, talked about the powerful relevance of the past on the future.
In the interview, he told the magazine's editor Dr Ooi Kee Beng about matters long past, especially the circumstances under which the British came to the region.
"What was the East India Company? We have to remember that we were actually ruled by this international commercial entity. What creature was this? Many of the early colonialists were in fact basically pirates," he was quoted in the interview.
Dr Lim later encouraged Ooi to check on the history of Province Wellesley, just as an example on how to convince Penangites that they should be interested in the state's early history.
Ooi, who wrote the best-seller "The Reluctant Politician: Tun Dr Ismail and His Time", later recounted the interview he had with Dr Lim, saying "This is part of what I found out. It may be common knowledge that Province Wellesley, which was handed over to British Penang on perpetual lease in 1798, was understandably named after Richard Wellesley, who was then Governor-General of British India."
"What is less known is that the brother of this Irish aristocrat, Arthur, who was nine years younger and who served with great distinction as a military officer in India, went on, as the Duke of Wellington, to defeat Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo in 1815.
"Arthur later served for seven months as Prime Minister of Britain in 1828, and though a conservative, he is fondly remembered for overseeing the granting of full civil rights to Catholics in the United Kingdom," Ooi said in the article, "Tun Lim Chong Eu: The Past is Not Passe" published in the magazine's inaugural edition.
Perhaps, it was true that this history had shaped Chong Eu's practical approach in politics when he later decided that it was best for Gerakan to join Barisan Nasional as one of its founding member.
The Penang Economic Monthly quoted Dr Lim as saying: "One must never forget the strands in history. Especially in this part of the world, which is archipelagic, and resources were moved around a lot.
The politics and the economics were therefore always tightly bound together. Production is one thing, but logistics is something else, and equally, if not more, important.
"But after all these years, we are still victims of our geography, and how that configured our thinking. We have not been able to lift ourselves beyond the conditions placed on us by geography."
Press Release: Criminal justice system on trial
The Malaysian Bar is disappointed with the series of recent Federal Court and High Court decisions in the case of PP v Dato’ Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim, denying the defence’s requests for access to various documents pertaining to the ongoing trial.We are of the view that the paramount consideration in a court hearing is the determination of the truth, so that justice is – and is seen to be – served. It is the responsibility of all parties, including the Judge, to ensure that the prosecution complies with full disclosure in terms of the information provided to the parties involved and produced in court. In addition, a witness who takes the stand in a trial, whether called by the prosecution or the defence, is under an obligation to be independent and to speak the whole truth.
Only when all these elements are present can the Judge make an informed decision on the credibility of the witnesses, and the weight to be given to their testimony. Non-production of any documents and information merely gives rise to the perception, in the public mind, of a cover-up, and would surely erode public confidence in the criminal justice system.
The provision of documents is to assist the defence to prepare its case more effectively, increase the level of efficiency of a trial and reduce the incidence of adjournments that are required in order for the defence to review newly-submitted documents.
We believe that, in enacting section 51A of the Criminal Procedure Code to expand and strengthen the principle governing production of documents, the Government made plain its intention to level the playing field between the prosecution and the defence, and to increase transparency and fairness in the country’s criminal justice system.
Some of these recent court decisions, however, have been myopic and regrettably regressive. They have in fact whittled down the strength of this vital tenet, rendering it meaningless and subverting the accused person’s right to a fair trial.
The Malaysian Bar urges the court to exercise its discretion in favour of giving full effect to this objective, in order to preserve the rights of accused persons and in the interest of justice. This concern is relevant not only to the Anwar Ibrahim case, but is applicable to the entire criminal justice system. Any derogation from the central principle of full disclosure would be detrimental to the criminal justice system.
Ragunath Kesavan
President
Malaysian Bar
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)